Autonomous College East Belgium
The Autonomous College East Belgium (AHS), based in Eupen, is the only higher education institution in the German-speaking Community of Belgium. It was founded on July 1, 2005. The AHS is run by an administrative board and offers Bachelor’s degree programs in three subject areas: Nursing, Primary School Teaching, Kindergarten Teaching, Accounting and Public and Business Administration. In addition to initial training, the AHS organizes additional training and further education for teachers and nursing staff. The external evaluation of primary and secondary schools in the German-speaking Community is based at the AHS. In addition to its own projects, the AHS conducts international comparative studies, including the PISA and VERA studies. The AHS is a partner school of the Pôle académique Liège-Luxembourg. There are cooperation agreements in the field of primary education with the University of Teacher Education Schaffhausen and in special education with the Intercantonal University for Special Needs Education in Zurich. In the area of teacher training, there is a cooperation agreement with SCRIPT in the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg. In the field of health and nursing sciences, there is close cooperation between the universities and other educational institutions in Belgium and in the various regions of the Euregio Meuse-Rhine.
There is also sporadic collaboration and cooperation at student exchange level with hospitals in Vienna, Hamburg, Stuttgart, Berlin, Bern, Madrid and Marseille. The AHS employs around 100 members of staff; 320 students were enrolled in 2023-2024.
The AHS has many years of experience with the design and organization of internships in teacher training and already organizes internships abroad as part of Erasmus projects. Courses in the field of intercultural pedagogy, foreign language didactics and accompanying courses for internships are part of the study program at the AHS. As heads of department and coordinators of the internships, the responsible persons are familiar with the topics of the project.
